If you have ever enjoyed the gift of international travel, you may have encountered a mind-numbingly long line to go through Customs. My sister, mother, and I were returning from a trip a year ago and, following a lengthy plane trip and crowds of people at baggage claim, we were next funneled into a room so large, we could not see the far wall of it. Somewhere in the distance, we would be plucked from the line and sent to designated Customs booths to show passports and discuss what was in our luggage.

Back and forth from wall to wall, heavy rope stanchions guided a line of weary, cranky humans of all ages, ethnicities, and dispositions. Muttered curses, groans, and sighs filled the air as we moved glacially along, mere inches at a time.

Among my earliest memories are the 5-hour car trips we used to take to visit my grandparents. My sister and I could while away most of that time singing. Pop songs from the radio, rounds learned at summer camp, show tunes, pretty much any Beatles' song- we could and DID sing for hours on those trips.

Maybe it's no surprise that my first introductions to MMC felt like coming home. Oh! You just start singing? And you invite others to join? 

This had been a part of my life from my childhood. 

And so, on that enervating morning, in that interminable line, I suppose it was almost predictable that one or the other of us would just start to sing. Was it her? Was it me? That I don't remember. Out of nowhere, at a normal, conversational level of sound, she and I started to sing the old hit, "Build me up, Buttercup" by the Foundations.

The bouncy tune is unavoidably cheerful, and my mom laughed as the two of us bopped to the song, oblivious at first to the stares of the people around us. And then, at some point, we noticed that the folks beside us in line, across the dividing ropes, were starting to sway and sing along and we smiled encouragingly. Somehow, our attempt to cheer ourselves up grew wings and soared through the airless room as person after person began to sing.

It was the most organic, unfettered flash mob event I'd ever seen! People were dancing around in line, spinning their luggage. Parents swayed with their infants while their toddlers jumped up and down. Umbrellas and canes were pressed into service as microphones. Others held their phones high, filming what they assumed was some sort of planned performance. We got to the final verse and just started the song over again, because we couldn't bear to end it. Our voices rang against the tiled walls, "I need YOU! I need YOU! More than anyone, darling!" 

And then, as simply as it had begun, the song came to an end- but the room was transformed. People were laughing, wiping tears from their eyes, patting the shoulders of those around them. You could hear strangers near one another complimenting the voice of this one or the dance moves of that one. Gone was the grumbling, the weariness, the low-grade irritation, and in its place was a spirit of play and surprise. We had shared something so simple and silly, and the weightiness of the waiting had melted away.

I would like to think that those hundreds of people still think of this moment. I would like to imagine that the shyness so many of us in the US feel about singing in public could be so easily melted if just one person started to sing. 

As song-leaders, we know there is often that terrifying moment just before we begin to sing. Will I do it "right"? Will others join? Will it "work" or fall flat?

Imagine if every person was just longing for the invitation to sing? 

And imagine if you were just the person to extend the invitation?

Cricket Cooper was a founding board member of Music That Makes Community, and has been delighted to see it grow and expand in rich and exciting directions. An Episcopal priest, Cricket is fascinated by the connections between singing, bonding, neuroscience, and the movement of the breath in meditative practice.

Image:  The author and her sister, in Reykjavik.

We invite you to join us in this transformative work by considering a gift of $100 or more toward our "Championing Brave Community" Campaign. Our fundraising goal is $50,000 by the end of the year. We invite you to join us with a gift of any size— all contributions make a difference in our ability to provide programming throughout the United States and Canada -- and then invite others by sharing your stories of deep spiritual connection and brave shared leadership that sparks the possibility of transformation in our world.